Posted on 15 May 2013
The Open Day at the new seat of the Historical Archives of the European Union at magnificent Villa Salviati on 10th May attracted 700 citizens, tourists and students.
The Open Day was preceded by a visit by Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria, and Mario Monti, Member of the Italian Senate, on the evening of the 9th May to inaugurate the new seat and open an exhibition on: “Sources on the history of Europe: the Historical Archives of the European Union”.
The exhibition highlights the importance of preserving the historical memory of the European Union and sheds light on the collections of documents, photographs, audio recordings and videos. The visitors were given the opportunity to visit the original papers in the modern deposits. Mr. Schulz thanked the archives staff “for enjoying a wonderful moment”.
The Open Day on 10th May was inaugurated by Member of European Parliament Carlo Casini who stressed that with the presence of the archives “the memory of Europe is in Florence”. The presentation by Prof. Mariella Zoppi on the Villa and its gardens, entitled La Villa, il Giardino, il Paesaggio – Un parco per gli Archivi Europei a Villa Salviati, acted as an introduction to the visits to the gardens of Villa Salviati, guided by the staff of the Association Città Nascosta.
This unprecedented occasion offered the chance to explore the Villa and its gardens after almost 50 years of neglect, visitors were excited to see once again this masterpiece of Florentine architecture.
“The enchanted atmosphere of the grottoes and the imposing structure of the Villa is striking” said visitor Barbara Sottani.
“Discovering the Archives has been great. It is a pleasure to discover a bit of Europe so close to us” said Valeria Bechelli.
“As a citizen of Fiesole, I’m delighted to see that the Villa and the gardens have been recovered to host such a prestigious institution as the Archives”, said Catia Meacci Ciardi Dupré.
The Open Day also saw the inauguration of the sculpture Il Portale del Tempo in the Salviati gardens by local artist Antonio Crivelli. The portal with twelve panels in terracotta, representing the various steps in the Sophocles tragedy King Oedipus serves as a place of remembrance; “the memory of the reason” as Antonio Crivelli said.
The Historical Archives of the European Union also took part at the Festival of Europa 2013 with another initiative. In the Cortile di Michelozzo of Palazzo Vecchio, the exhibition “The Vision of a United Europe: The Schuman Declaration, 9th May 1950” focused on the three ‘fathers of Europe’: Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide de Gasperi whose political and intellectual experience provided the context for the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community. A lawn of real grass around the central fountain of the court was decorated with flourishing panels bearing selections of photos, documents, quotes and biographical notes of Schuman, Adenauer and de Gasperi. Portraits adorned a mirrored wall reflecting the stuccoes and frescoes of the courtyard. This striking design was appreciated by participants of the European University Institute’s State of the Union Conference on 9th May and by thousands of tourists passing daily through Palazzo Vecchio.